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Illinois reports 1st human case of West Nile virus this year

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois public health officials say the state has confirmed its first human case of West Nile virus this year.

The Illinois Department of Public Health said Thursday that the victim is a Will County man in his 60s who became ill at the end of June. In 2016 the first human case of West Nile virus was reported June 6. Last year the department reported 155 human cases, including six deaths.

The virus is transmitted through bites from mosquitoes that picked up the virus from an infected bird. Symptoms include fever, nausea and aches.

Illinois public health director Nirav Shah says recent floodwaters in northern Illinois may produce mosquitoes but those don’t carry West Nile virus. He says virus-carrying mosquitoes are more likely around pockets of stagnant water created by dry, hot conditions.